Govt disburses K85.5Bn for CDF sponsored projects

Malawi Exclusive

Government has rolled out the disbursement of funds under the revised Constituency Development Fund, CDF, with councils now receiving allocations to implement community-prioritized development projects.

Under the new guidelines, communities are responsible for selecting the projects they want, while councils manage implementation and accountability.

Addressing the press in Lilongwe, Secretary to Local Government, Reverend Moses Chimphepo, said the objective of the new framework is to promote prudent management of public resources.

“People should understand that under this new arrangement, councils will only be invited to access additional funds after they have fully accounted for the money already disbursed to them,” Chimphepo said.

According Chimphepo,  Government has disbursed K85,502,922,291 to 30 out of 36 Local Councils for payment of advance to contractors awarded various works.

Chimphepo said councils that received the funds have completed procurement processes and identified contractors.

“With the release of these resources, it is expected that contractors will mobilise and start work in their respective sites,” said Reverend Chimphepo.

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Finance,  Mr Peterson  Ponderani, said the disbursement is meant to facilitate payments to contractors engaged to undertake various projects in councils across the country.

Ponderani said in addition to project funds, government also released K5,487,075,758 for Project Management Costs and K2,862,500,000 for Sports Development, Creative Arts and Innovation in September 2026.

According to Ponderani, in August 2026, K17,175,000,000 was disbursed to councils for School Bursaries under CDF. This is in addition to K15,000,000,000 for Youth and Women Loans released in April 2026 and K18,840,469,690 or Project Management Costs released between May and August 2026.

The District Commissioner for Lilongwe, Mr. Stallichi Mwambiwa, said the council has already started awarding contracts to contractors for the implementation of different development initiatives using CDF resources.

Government says the disbursements are a testament that the implementation of the Reformed CDF is on track.

Treasury has committed to ensuring timely disbursement of resources in line with CDF Guidelines to promote prudent financial management.

The revised CDF policy is expected to increase community participation in development planning while strengthening financial oversight at council level.